1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combined nozzle and air foil for use with a cutter blade. Specifically, the combined nozzle and air foil of the present invention is used with a cutter blade such as a saw or grinding wheel for cutting hard substrate material such as ceramic or semi conductor material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the sawing or grinding of hard substrate material, it is very important to eliminate the build up of debris inside the kerf or cut made by the saw or grinding wheel. If this debris is not removed, it can impede further sawing or grinding. Also, if this debris is not removed, it can actually become reattached to the substrate because of the high temperatures which are built up during the sawing or grinding operation.
Prior art devices have attempted to remove this debris by flooding the area with water or other cooling fluid to cool the cutting blade and flush out the debris from the kerf or cut. This technique becomes less efficient as the speed of the cutting blade increases and as the size of the cutting blade increases. This is due to the increase in the air flow forces as the speed of the blade increases and the size of the blade is larger. The increase in the air flow forces creates problems because the air flow forces includes both a downward component and a backward component. The backward component tends to resist the flow of water to the surface of the substrate to thereby hinder the removal of the debris from the cut area.